From the Inside Looking Out

There
are changes taking place in our industry that are unprecedented. The changes in
efficiency were to be expected, along with working through the
phase-out/phase-in of refrigerants. Add into the equation the changes in our
overall economy, and the results are more than many can keep up with. But like
the old saying goes, “the more things change, the more they remain the same.” A
variation is “the more things change, the more they remain … insane.”

I
like this second version better because it describes this particular time in
our industry. One definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over
expecting different results. I believe this is a good description of how a lot
of us are choosing to deal with the changes in our industry, as well as
day-to-day business.

Human
nature reflects our tendency to sit back and let someone else initiate a
change; a change for the better we hope. Rather than “take the bull by the
horns” and initiate the change ourselves, we are content to conduct “business
as usual” expecting different results.

The
times in which we currently live require, if not demand, that we do business
differently. You hear all the talk about our political representatives and that
they should not be doing business as usual because the business environment is
NOT as it was and may never be again. In fact, today, you have to work harder,
longer, AND smarter in order to achieve the same level of success as before.
But even with this being the case, many of us are content to “watch from the
sidelines” and wait for someone else to initiate a change that will yield
positive results for us.

These
same times in which we currently live also demand we view our customers in a
different light. Even if you have provided exemplary service in the past, you
need to do an even better job. Following up with customers, requesting
referrals, doing that “little something extra and unexpected” is more important
today than it ever has been. “Under-promise and over-deliver” is a great motto.
Today we are forced to embrace what we should have been doing all along, simply
because times are tough. Call it a silver lining. We are doing things today, to
promote our service and product, that during more affluent times we would have
never thought of doing.

Think
about what you do today in order to meet your customer’s needs that weren’t
even part of your program say 7 or 10 years ago. How many of you are really, I
mean really, doing anything
different, or are you doing the same things expecting different results?

Don’t
be spectators; be a participant. Take time to think and be innovative in how
you meet your customer’s needs. Get in the game!

John Lloyd of Prudential
Heating and Air Conditioning Inc. has
been involved first-hand in the HVAC industry in a variety of roles for over 30
years.